this is london...

an early and foggy london morning. the sky was a lovely haze of lilac grey and the silhouettes of the buildings were fab. i didn't whip my camera out in time to get a picture as we whizzed across waterloo bridge on the bus...shame....the london eye and gherkin looked great.

papered canister...

i been getting all crafty with paper this weekend, wrapping notebooks and canisters with hoarded left over wrapping paper. thought i'd share my cute canister with you - it's super easy to make but just in case you're wondering....here's how:

1: source an empty canister:
this canister used to host my absolutely favourite hot chocolate. it is sooooo deliciously thick, really chocolately and not too rich...and perfect for dipping croissants into. it got finished rather quick....anywho, this is my empty and cleaned out canister.

2: measure canister and cut paper

this lovely paper, originally from paperchase i think, is the carefully unpeeled paper from a pressie i was given a couple of years ago. i see unwrapping as a bit of a test...how carefully can you peel of the cellotape without ripping the paper? as a result i have a nice batch of wrapping paper to play around with! i used a dressmaker tape measure so i could bend it around the curved shape, but alternatively you could measure with string and lay it against a ruler to get the height and width measurements. then, mark out the shape onto the paper and cut out.

3: glue the paper to the canister

to glue the paper i simply smothered the canister with pva glue and carefully positioned the paper into place. be sure to smooth out bubbles under the paper gently so you dont crease or rip the paper. and then leave to dry! i decided not to varnish this as i'm just using it as desk storage for bits and pieces but if you think grubby fingers might ruin the paper you could give it a few light layers of varnish - i've heard mod podge is fab as a paper varnish (though other have argued it's just an expensive version of pva!).

4: tada!

divine soaps...

lavender and vanilla

earl grey and citrus

pear and ginger with gold foil

these beauties from adoration soap sound amazing! and look stunning - find out more in her featured seller interview over on etsy

our picnic finds...

bedroom inspiration...

i really want to do some work my bedroom....it's the room that is probably most neglected in the house. but working on a teeny room, on a teeny budget (near nil), in a rented newbuild is prooving really tricky. i love all the beautiful floaty rooms you see plastered across designsponge, with the huge windows, the beautiful features and the classic pieces. but, my house has all the personality of your traditional new build - white walls, beige carpet, plastic double glazing....no cute nooks and crannies, no beautiful and aged wooden floors....hmm. soooo, i need some inspiration. i quite like having the beige and white to work with as i want to play with a washed out and fairly neutral colour palette, with a splash of mint.

so here is my favourite piece of bedroom furniture...i'm not sure what wood it is but it was an absolute bargain at £15 of ebay. the veneer is really beautiful and has been matched in the four front panels, shame the picture doesn't really show the detail. i'm hoping this will be a forever piece...it stands strong and sturdy most of the time but feels scarily delicate when we moved it - so fingers crossed! oh, and on top is my picnic basket that reminds me of my gran.

because the wardrobe is dark and the room is teeny i feel i need to keep the rest of the colours all light. like with these rooms below:

designsponge sneek peek

i really like how texture has been used in replacement of colour - the soft throw on the chair and the details of the pieces on top of the cabinet are all texturally interesting and all within the same cream colour palette.

via frydogdesign

this lovely room also has the lovely soft and floaty feel i want to capture. the little bit of colour detail in the picture on the desk is a nice way of highlighting the subtle colours in the room. but alas, no washed out white floorboards in my room.

would love to see anything ideas for injecting personality into newbuilds with little features to capitalise on - please point me in the right direction! i'm also on the lookout for a lovely and affordable light shade - something subtle that would match the rooms above. any ideas there too?!

best google logo yet?

fond memories....

balloons = bubbles...

i would love to do this! except that i can't stand on a skateboard...or rather one that is moving. love the flow of the balloons as they get caught up in the air movemen.

coincidentally i spent my sunday afternoon in our local skatepark...or rather on the side of the skatepark. too old and too scared to dare skating down a ramp. i remember the days when tree clambering and garage roof jumping were regular activities! but it was nice to spend a sunny sunday afternoon with friends doing sunday afternoon things - throwing balls, getting muddy and going for a picnic.

the above areo bubbles ad reminds me of the sony bravia bouncing ball ad: